Deuteronomy 23
Lexham English Bible
23 “No man with crushed testicles[a] or whose male organ is cut off[b] may come into the assembly of Yahweh.
2 An illegitimate child may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants[c] may come into the assembly of Yahweh.
3 An Ammonite or a Moabite may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants[d] may come into the assembly of Yahweh forever,[e] 4 because[f] they did not come to meet you with food and with water when you came out of Egypt,[g] and also because[h] they[i] hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor, in Aram Naharaim[j] to act against you to curse you. 5 But Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you. 6 You shall not promote their welfare or their prosperity all your days forever.[k]
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, because he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian because you were an alien in his land. 8 The children[l] that are born to them in the third generation may come representing them[m] in the assembly of Yahweh.
9 “If[n] you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against doing anything evil.
10 “If there is among you a man that is not clean because of a seminal emission during the night,[o] he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come within the camp. 11 And then[p] toward the coming[q] of the evening, he shall bathe with[r] water, and at the going down[s] of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.
12 “And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; and you shall go there to relieve yourself,[t] 13 and a digging tool[u] shall be included in addition to your other utensils[v] for yourself; and then[w] when you relieve yourself[x] outside the camp you shall dig with it, and then you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement. 14 For Yahweh your God is walking about in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to hand your enemies over to you before you,[y] and so let your camp be holy, so that he shall not see in it anything indecent,[z] and he shall turn away from going with you.[aa]
15 “And you shall not hand over a slave to his master who has escaped and fled to you from his master. 16 He shall reside with you in your midst in the place that he chooses in one of your towns wherever he pleases;[ab] you shall not oppress him.
17 “No woman of Israel[ac] shall be a temple prostitute, and no man of Israel[ad] shall be a male shrine prostitute. 18 You may not bring the hire[ae] of a prostitute or the earnings of a male prostitute[af] into the house of Yahweh your God, for any vow offerings, because both[ag] are a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.
19 “You shall not charge your brother interest on money,[ah] interest on[ai] food, or interest on[aj] anything that one could lend[ak] on interest. 20 You may lend on interest to the foreigner, but to your countryman[al] you may not lend on interest, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your undertakings[am] in the land where you are going,[an] in order to take possession of it.[ao]
21 “When you make a vow[ap] to Yahweh your God, you shall not postpone fulfillment of it,[aq] for certainly Yahweh your God shall require it from you and if postponed you will incur guilt.[ar] 22 And if you refrain from vowing,[as] you shall not incur guilt.[at] 23 The utterance of your lips you must perform diligently[au] just as you have vowed freely to Yahweh your God whatever it was that you promised[av] with your mouth.
24 “When[aw] you come into the vineyard of your neighbor, then you may eat grapes as you please[ax] and until you are full,[ay] but you shall not put any into your container.
25 “When[az] you come into the standing grain of your neighbor, then you may pluck ears with your hand, but you may not swing[ba] a sickle among the standing grain of your neighbor.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Literally “bruised of crushing”
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Literally “cut off of male organ”
- Deuteronomy 23:2 Literally “to him”
- Deuteronomy 23:3 Literally “to him”
- Deuteronomy 23:3 Literally “until eternity”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Literally “because of the event when”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Literally “at your going out of Egypt”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Literally “because of the event when”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Hebrew “he,” but with plural meaning
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Or “Mesopotamia” = “between the rivers”
- Deuteronomy 23:6 Literally “until eternity”
- Deuteronomy 23:8 Or “sons”
- Deuteronomy 23:8 Literally “for them” or possibly “become members of”
- Deuteronomy 23:9 Or “when”
- Deuteronomy 23:10 Literally “of the night”
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Literally “And it will happen/come about that”
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Literally “turning”
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Hebrew “in” but this is instrumental use of this preposition
- Deuteronomy 23:11 The verb can mean “coming/going” and here it means “going”
- Deuteronomy 23:12 Literally “and you shall go out there, outside to relieve yourself”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Or “spade”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Hebrew “utensil”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Literally “and it will happen”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Literally “at your sitting”
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “to give your enemies to the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “nakedness of a thing”
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “from behind/after you”
- Deuteronomy 23:16 Literally “in your gates good for him”
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Literally “from the daughters of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Literally “from the sons of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Literally “gift”
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Literally “the earnings of a dog”
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Literally “both, the two of them”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Literally “You shall not lend on interest to your brother, interest of money”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Hebrew “of”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Hebrew “of”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Or “can lend”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Or “brother”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Literally “in all the sendings out of your hand”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Literally “the land that you are going there”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Literally “to take possession”
- Deuteronomy 23:21 Literally “When/if you vow a vow”
- Deuteronomy 23:21 Literally “to fulfill it”
- Deuteronomy 23:21 Literally “it shall become against you as sin”
- Deuteronomy 23:22 Literally “if you refrain to make a vow”
- Deuteronomy 23:22 Literally “it shall not become against you as sin”
- Deuteronomy 23:23 Literally “you must observe and you shall do”
- Deuteronomy 23:23 Or “spoke”
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Or “If”
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Literally “according to your desire”
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Literally “to your satiation”
- Deuteronomy 23:25 Or “If”
- Deuteronomy 23:25 Literally “wave”
Deuteronomy 23
English Standard Version
Those Excluded from the Assembly
23 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 (A)“No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.
3 (B)“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 (C)because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they (D)hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of (E)Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned (F)the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You (G)shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for (H)he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because (I)you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 “If any man among you becomes (J)unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall (K)bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.
12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because (L)the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 (M)“You shall not give up to his master a slave[a] who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
17 “None of the (N)daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none (O)of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog[b] into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
19 (P)“You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, (Q)interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 (R)You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, (S)that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
21 (T)“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24 “If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, (U)you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:15 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Or male prostitute
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
